Brain Damage (1988)
Palisades Entertainment

You should know something about Elmer…

Elmer is your classic drug dealer. He gives out the first dose of his hallucinogenic blue goo for free to get you hooked and keep you coming back for more. This is what he does to his neighbor, Brian, who, unsuspectingly, in the middle of the night, wakes up in a hallucinogenic fever dream spurned on by Elmer’s wunder-drug. 

But, you see, the other thing you should know about Elmer is that his real name is Aylmer, and he’s a centuries-old parasitic worm that enjoys feasting on human brains. 

Such is the story of Brain Damage (1988), Frank Henenlotter’s ode to addiction, mental illness, and the consequences of ‘80s excess. The absolute best thing about Henenlotter is you know you’re in for an odd, FX-driven surrealist satire with any flick he bestows onto celluloid (or analog or digital…). This is the man who gave us Basket Case, after all. There’s something familiar, even cozy, for genre fans about Henenlotter’s fare. Even at its most ooey-gooeiest, it has this sweeping nostalgic warmth that’s not unlike watching White Christmas on a crisp December afternoon.

Perhaps part of that nostalgia is Henenlotter bringing many Basket Case veterans with him on Brain Damage, along with FX and AD teams from the Troma jaunt Street Trash, another embodiment of the seedy, gritty streets of NYC of the 1980s. And lest we not forget Kevin Van Hentenryck’s adorable cameo with his basket-bound brother on the subway. One of the first claims to a “shared universe” that didn’t first come from a comic book. 

And while Brain Damage is a full-on psycho-feast of schlock and surrealism, it’s also that classic Henelotter cut of beef that’s raw and urban, like a handful of sand shoved between your teeth. This is Frank’s specialty, and it remarkably serves more analytical gusto than other, more developed fare of the ‘80s. 

What do I mean? Well, somehow, this ultra-low-budget slice of blue cheese has got film theorists drooling over the film’s implications. 

Brain Damage (1988)
Palisades Entertainment

Releasing in the Nancy Reagan “Just Say No” years, it’s easy to recognize the film’s connections to drug abuse. And while the political campaign may have been a total laugh, critics saw how closely the film connected with heroin addiction. The “tune in, drop out” angle every time Brian (Rick Hearst) gets dosed up so he doesn’t have to “deal with” the horrors of his brain-eating dealer is a fairly superficial reading. Henenlotter himself remarked the flick was written as a reaction to his own cocaine use. Saying Brain Damage is about drug addiction is like saying Friday the 13th is thematically about bullying. Of course, it is, but that’s not why we watch it over and over again. 

Then there’s the psycho-sexual reading of the flick, which, well, how can you miss that? Henelotter told Al Magliochetti, his stop-motion animator from Basket Case, that he wanted Aylmer to look like “a black dildo.” He penetrates his host and deposits his “blue goo.” He likes it when things are wet. The phallic parasite even bursts from Brian’s pants and into a club-goers mouth in a kill that is both arousing and disgusting all at once. Henenlotter openly laughs about the imagery, about which he stated, “I didn’t set out to put it there; that’s simply what the imagery turned out to be, and I’m not about to change the imagery just to eliminate that.” 

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And it’s this level of jovial interpretation that gets us closer to why films like Brain Damage only grow in popularity as the years pass by. Because I think it’s less about all that “cultural relevance” and more about the weird

We came here for the weird. The totally outrageous, out-of-this-cosmos crackery that curls our toes and squirms our intestines. The stories that come with Faustian bargains and mad scientists playing gods and monsters, married with killer practical FX and imagery. And I believe, of the masters of horror, Frank Henenlotter is one of the most inauspicious when it comes to recognizing themes but not compromising his vision to fulfill any sort of agenda. It’s entertainment first (and probably a little bit of money).  

Film theorist Laura Mulvey once said, “It is said that analyzing pleasure, or beauty, destroys it.” And I have been feeling this sentiment more and more lately about this beloved decade of horror. 

Brain Damage (1988) 3
Palisades Entertainment

As we collectively look back at the films of yesteryears, we identify the themes and structures of society to which that film reacted. We analyze its place in the zeitgeist, and more and more often, this is done to a fault. Hell, I’m one of the worst offenders! But this analysis has made some of my favorite oldies so message-laced nearly to the point of unwatchability. To pull back the curtain so far…it’s not even entertaining anymore. 

But that’s not the case with Brain Damage because it – along with its brothers and sisters like Basket Case and Frankenhooker – is the crass rhythmic heartbeat of what remains of amazingly entertaining horror. Indulgently analyzed but never destroyed. 

How does a film hold onto its roots without falling into deconstruction? Well, in the first five minutes alone, you will see both brains and damage – already living up to its title. A title that didn’t come into being until Henenlotter’s final pages of the script. Then there’s the classic horror host “Cool Ghoul” John Zacherle as the voice of Elmer – uncredited due to the fact that he was a SAG member and this was not a SAG project. A truly inspired wink for genre fans to indulge in a little “insider knowledge” as they whisper behind popcorn they may not be able to stomach after Elmer’s first brain drain. 

It’s an imaginative film. An original film. A hook of dark humor surrounded by stereotypical truths and never take themselves too seriously, and thus allow them to expand beyond our standard level of comfort. Sure, any director can cut a woman in half with a chainsaw…but can you name the last time you saw a man pull his brains out of his own ear until half his head fell off? Or meatballs slowly pulsing as they turn into tiny brains on a plate of spaghetti? 

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It exists with its themes on the periphery, never burgeoning over the edges and infiltrating our psyches. It’s always a suggestion, a nudge, a “what if and wherefore?” instead of a slap-you-in-the-face needle-down-your-neck injection of “messaging.” And for that, Brain Damage remains a cult classic, even after a rocky release in 1988. 

Brain Damage (1988)
Palisades Entertainment

Releasing six years after his debut feature Basket Case, and with a significantly higher budget of $1.5M, Brain Damage opened to generally underwhelming reviews. Henenlotter would comment that even fans of Basket Case didn’t embrace it. This could be because many of the gags underrated viewers get to see today (brought to you by FX-duo Gabe Bartalos and Dave Kindlon) were cut down to get that exalted R-rating to allow a theatrical release. But Brain Damage also suffered from poor promotion and limited release but found homes in the sleaziest theaters Manhattan had to offer, which probably added much to the ambiance but little to national viewership. 

But as with many lower-budget, high-cheese ‘80s flicks, the home video market wrapped its suction cups around the VHS rental, and Brain Damage was one of the most high-demand rentals of 1989. It even got a special edition Arrow release in 2017 and is available to stream on the Criterion channel – adding to the clout of a blue-grue splatterfest. 

For the uber-fan, you may even want to seek out the ultra limited-edition novelization by former Fango editor Robert “Uncle Bob” Martin. Only 1,000 copies were released – all signed and numbered – and go for about $80 minimum if you are lucky enough to find one. 

Of course, all this just adds to the clout and circumstance that was ‘80s low-budget horror. A timeless, singular age where all imagination was on the table. We try very hard to go back and make “cinema” out of these schlock-shocks – but truth be told, Brain Damage is simply one of the most entertainingly bizarre romps you’ll journey through for all lovers of the genre. 

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